Witness says Hailey Hall was attacked once before by her boyfriend

An image of Hailey Hall, 16, is shown on a screen during William Arnold's murder trial for the murder of Hailey Hall at Hamilton County Courthouse on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018. Arnold is charged with murder, kidnapping, abduction, felonious assault and tampering with evidence in Hailey's death. He was arrested March 1, 2016, the day after Hailey was attacked.(Photo: Albert Cesare/The Enquirer)Buy Photo

A month before Hailey Hall was beaten to death, a friend said she saw William Arnold repeatedly punch the 16-year-old in the face.

The 22-year-old with a “Hailey” tattoo on her arm began crying soon after she sat down Thursday to tell her story outside of the presence of the jury. Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Jerome Metz asked to hear what she was going to say before deciding whether jurors could hear it.

The woman, who asked not to be identified in the media, said Hailey was her “right hand” and recounted the night in late January 2016 about a month before her friend was killed.

The woman said she was picked up by Arnold, 37, in his BMW. It was the first time she had met him, she said. All three drank from a bottle of liquor as they headed to the Inner Circle nightclub, she said. That’s the same club Hailey was at the night she was beaten.

It was the first time she met Arnold. She was not involved with Arnold's drug trafficking.

Hailey got in with a fake ID, her friend said. They had a disagreement and spent much of the night apart.

Eventually, the friend went back to Arnold’s car where she heard him talking to other men who had picked up Hailey in their car, she told the judge.

When Arnold met the men, she said he yanked Hailey, now drunk, out of the car by her arm and shoved her into his own car. She said Arnold punched Hailey in the face multiple times as they drove. They headed to the woman's home.

Sobbing, she said, “I told Hailey, ‘I want you to come inside with me.’ She said, ‘I don’t want to go with you, I want to go with him.’ ”

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Jurors, however, will not hear that testimony. Metz ruled it inadmissible, citing an Ohio Supreme Court ruling that says just because a person has committed a crime in the past, it doesn't mean that person committed the crime they are on trial for.

Prosecutors argued it showed motive. In this case, they said Arnold beat Hailey because she got in another man’s car, just as she did during the earlier incident.

'Got what she deserved'

The 22-year-old did go on to testify in front of the jury about the night of the attack. She cried throughout. Hailey had called her to go out that night, but the woman said she decided to stay home.

She woke up the next morning to missed calls from Arnold's cell phone and tried to call back.

Around 10 a.m., she said he got a call back from his number.

“F--- that b----. That hoe got what she deserved,” she recalled the voice saying before hanging up.

Eventually, she spoke to Arnold, who told her Hailey was "not breathing right."

She said she asked Arnold to put Hailey on the phone.

All she heard back was a gurgling, gasping noise.

She said she tried to tell Arnold to go to the hospital, but he hung up again.

They spoke a third time later that day, she said, and Arnold then told her Hailey had been jumped by a group of girls.

When asked to identify Arnold in the courtroom, she struggled to look at him. When the judge excused her from the stand, she ran into the hallway.

'They had gotten into it'

A second woman also testified Thursday. The 26-year-old former heroin addict came to buy drugs from Arnold at the Budget Host hotel on Central Parkway the morning after Hailey was severely beaten. Hailey was still there.

The woman testified that Arnold said he and Hailey had argued, but that morning didn't mention her being jumped.

“He just said that it was worst day of his life. He just kept repeating that,” she said. “He said they had gotten into it. He was shaking his head.

“I asked him what was so bad that it came to this. He said 'I don’t know.'”

Prosecutors say Arnold fatally beat Hailey. Arnold’s attorneys say she was jumped by a group of girls outside the nightclub.

The witness said she saw Hailey on the bed in the hotel room. She was breathing heavily and not responding, she said.

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William Arnold, 36, who is on trial for the murder of 16-year-old Hailey Hall, looks on during opening statements at the Hamilton County Courthouse on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018. Arnold is charged with murder, kidnapping, abduction, felonious assault and tampering with evidence in Hailey's death. Enquirer/Albert Cesare

An image of Hailey Hall, 16, is shown on a screen during William Arnold's murder trial for the murder of Hailey Hall at Hamilton County Courthouse on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018. Arnold is charged with murder, kidnapping, abduction, felonious assault and tampering with evidence in Hailey's death. Enquirer/Albert Cesare

Rhonda Bird testifies about the last time she spoke to her daughter, Hailey Hall, 16, who was beaten, during William Arnold's murder trial for the murder of Hailey Hall at Hamilton County Courthouse on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018. Arnold is charged with murder, kidnapping, abduction, felonious assault and tampering with evidence in Hailey's death. He was arrested March 1, 2016, the day after Hailey was attacked. Albert Cesare / Enquirer,

William Arnold, 36, who is on trial for the murder of 16-year-old Hailey Hall, looks on during opening statements at the Hamilton County Courthouse on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018. Arnold is charged with murder, kidnapping, abduction, felonious assault and tampering with evidence in Hailey's death. He was arrested March 1, 2016, the day after Hailey was attacked. Enquirer/Albert Cesare

Rhonda Bird testifies about the last time she spoke to her daughter, Hailey Hall, 16, who was beaten, during William Arnold's murder trial for the murder of Hailey Hall at Hamilton County Courthouse on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018. Arnold is charged with murder, kidnapping, abduction, felonious assault and tampering with evidence in Hailey's death. Enquirer/Albert Cesare

William Arnold, 36, who is on trial for the murder of 16-year-old Hailey Hall, looks on during opening statements at the Hamilton County Courthouse on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018. Arnold is charged with murder, kidnapping, abduction, felonious assault and tampering with evidence in Hailey's death. The Enquirer/Albert Cesare

William Arnold, 36, who is on trial for the murder of 16-year-old Hailey Hall, looks on during opening statements at the Hamilton County Courthouse on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018. Arnold is charged with murder, kidnapping, abduction, felonious assault and tampering with evidence in Hailey's death. Enquirer/Albert Cesare

William Arnold, 36, who is on trial for the murder of 16-year-old Hailey Hall, looks on during opening statements at the Hamilton County Courthouse on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018. Arnold is charged with murder, kidnapping, abduction, felonious assault and tampering with evidence in Hailey's death. Enquirer/Albert Cesare

William Arnold, 36, who is on trial for the murder of 16-year-old Hailey Hall, looks on during opening statements at the Hamilton County Courthouse on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018. Arnold is charged with murder, kidnapping, abduction, felonious assault and tampering with evidence in Hailey's death. He was arrested March 1, 2016, the day after Hailey was attacked. Albert Cesare/The Enquirer

Rhonda Bird testifies about the last time she spoke to her daughter, Hailey Hall, 16, who was beaten, during William Arnold's murder trial for the murder of Hailey Hall at Hamilton County Courthouse on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018. Arnold is charged with murder, kidnapping, abduction, felonious assault and tampering with evidence in Hailey's death. He was arrested March 1, 2016, the day after Hailey was attacked. Albert Cesare/The Enquirer